Rob Gronkowski could be back and catching passes from Tom Brady on Sunday. / Stew Milne, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

by Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

Rob Gronkowski is back, finally cleared by his doctors and set to make his much-anticipated return against the dreaded New York Jets on Sunday.

What a drama.

For some time, it's been apparent that this is anything but a case of the star tight end simply falling back into Bill Belichick's line with the team-first flow that seems embedded within the New England Patriots logo.

Gronkowski's return was marked by the release Friday of a YouTube video, a slick, two-minute featurette sponsored by a sports drink -- which surely cuts against the grain of The Patriot Way. This, hours after agent Drew Rosenhaus revealed that Gronkowski was medically cleared‚?¶ and before the Patriots officially listed his status as questionable.

Remember when the Patriots won their first Super Bowl nearly a dozen years ago? They bucked Super Tradition and would not choose a unit -- offense or defense -- to take the field for pre-game introductions.

Instead, they streamed through the Superdome tunnel en masse -- introduced as a team.

That was a long time ago. Only one player, Tom Brady, is still with the team.

Yet intentionally or not, Gronkowski -- whose return means instant big-play potential, matchup headaches for defenses and a better red-zone completion rate for Brady -- has turned up his nose up at that Patriot Way philosophy.

Maybe it's just a sign of the times. Robert Griffin III gave us an "All in for Week 1" commercial and "Operation Patience" t-shirts.

Now Gronkowski is rolling with #BackToSuper.

Perceptions can be everything. Hey, it's a cool production, with some behind-the-scenes footage of Gronkowski -- a.k.a. "The Gronk" -- in rehab and a sequence that ends with a signature monster spike -- the type the Patriots have surely missed.

In the video, Gronkowski -- who can add this to his string of wild, un-Patriot-like events -- maintains that he didn't feel like part of the team while rehabbing.

Yet I wonder whether a seemingly harmless commercial will go over well with teammates, who might wonder if he's so self-absorbed that capitalizing on his return to make a buck transcended the team thing. Last weekend, ESPN reported, citing unnamed sources, that Gronkowski's continued absence caused some tension among teammates who saw him dominate on the practice field and then sit idle on Sunday.

As for The Patriot Way, there was a time when veteran players would handle team discipline for violations such as being tardy for a meeting -- or talking too much in the media.

Maybe something like a look-at-me video while coming off rehab flies now.

None of this is to suggest that Gronkowski should be blamed for not returning until Week 7.

That's a separate issue. Given the physical nature of football and the chew-and-spit-out nature of the football business, Gronkowski should have approached his return with caution. He knows his body better than we do.

Gronkowski had back surgery in June and four surgeries in 10 months on his left forearm. No one should try to judge that rehab process, regardless of educated projections.

The last time he came back, after the first surgery for a fractured arm, he re-fractured the arm within weeks after apparently being assured that it was completely healed.

Then there was a setback due to an infection, and more surgeries.

For Gronkowski to seek opinions outside of the team's doctor, Thomas Gill, seemed wise. He enlisted James Andrews -- the Tom Brady of orthopedic surgeons -- and the man who performed his last surgery on his forearm in May, Jesse Jupiter.

There was no need to rush back, even for a player whose legend includes the time he was at Gillette Stadium lifting weights within days of his post-Super Bowl ankle surgery in 2012. Even with his team struggling.

Gronk continued to practice. The team continued to announce that he was day-to-day and he was kept out of the lineup without clearance. There were no straight answers coming from the Patriots or the Gronkowski camp about how the tight end's psyche factored into the medical clearance.

Earlier this week, Belichick said that it is pretty common for a player to be deemed healthy enough to practice but not to play.

No doubt, it's faster and more intense on gameday.

Given what happened the last time he came back -- and how fast he was re-injured -- the mental comfort zone for Gronkowski may have been as critical as the X-rays.

He's finally crossed the bridge ‚?¶ marketing roadshow in tow.

It probably won't take long for Gronkowski to re-establish chemistry with teammates and the fans, provided he lives up to his track record and helps the Patriots thrive within the NFL's must-win environment.